


Fading kitten Lullaby

by Pompadorbz



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Dreams and Nightmares, Future Foundation (Dangan Ronpa), IT HAS PICTURES BABEY!!!, M/M, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, everyone from class 78 is in the future foundation, if i don't chicken out it will at least, im stalling for time rn, oh god this is my first work i will die, specifically dr:if, this fic is illustrated, this will probably get really sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29278470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pompadorbz/pseuds/Pompadorbz
Summary: Taka and Mondo's last mission together with the future foundation resulted in Mondo's mysterious disappearance, leaving Taka to shut himself away from the world with worry as his old friends try to piece together what had happened.
Relationships: Asahina Aoi & Ishimaru Kiyotaka, Ishimaru Kiyotaka & Oowada Mondo, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Fading kitten Lullaby

**_As Taka and Mondo gathered supplies and prepared for their upcoming mission, they heard the sound of quick footsteps breaking into their thoughtless conversation. Taka turned around to see the source of the noise, and he ended up face to face with Kyoko, who hadn’t made an effort to hide her look of worry and concern from the two of them._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“I have to warn you two of something before you head out… Since this is in such close proximity to the old Academy, the amount of both brainwashed children and Monokumas will be much, much higher than what the two of you are used to… I would much prefer if they sent you out with a larger group, but I was informed that larger groups can only be sent out for rescue missions, and this is only an assessment mission._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“So please… Take as much equipment as you may deem necessary. If things get urgent, you can call to send in a rescue team, but… I can’t guarantee I can pull enough strings to convince them to retrieve you, as the need for rescue helicopters has been increasing immensely over the last few months.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“A-Ah… Thank you, Kirigiri. Mondo and I will try to make the mission as quick as possible in that case,” Taka told her, trying to give her a reassuring smile._ ** **_  
_** **_Kyoko knew that Taka was nervous, but she didn’t want to push his fears any further. “Alright. I was also informed to give the two of you this.” Kyoko pulled out a journal with a black case and handed it to him._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_“All of the locations that you’ll need to assess and take notes of are on the front page of the journal. Please try to bring it back in one piece so we can reuse it, alright?” Taka nodded at kyoko and put the journal in the bag he was carrying. “Alright. I need to go attend to other matters in the meantime, so I can’t stay for much longer. Best of luck to the both of you,” She said, turning on her heels and walking off._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Taka’s smile faded as she left, and it didn’t take very long for Mondo to notice. He put a reassuring hand on Taka’s shoulder. “Hey, Taka… Look at me…” As soon as he obliged and faced the other man, Mondo continued, “It’s gonna be alright… ok?”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** **_Taka smiled back at Mondo and nodded, feeling warmer about the situation. If Mondo told Taka that they’d be alright, then Taka would always believe him._ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** \- - - - -  
  
  
  
Taka’s eyes slowly blinked open as his awareness of the warm bed sheets against his skin slowly came back to him. The comforting and gentle warmth contrasted the drab, windowless bedroom, only illuminated by a lamp with a pale white bulb with a crack of light coming from just beneath the door.  
  
Taka’s dreams had always been vivid, and he guessed that it had something to do with how tight his sleep schedule was when he was younger. Back when he was attending Hope’s Peak Academy, his good friend and classmate Aoi had encouraged him to keep track of his dreams in a log or a journal after he’d told her about his more vivid dreams. It was one of the few non-study oriented things he’d done in his free time, and he’d begun to make a habit of sharing some of the weird, hilarious dream descriptions with Aoi whenever he gathered enough new ones.  
  
He’d lost that old journal at the beginning of the mutual killing game. Junko probably incinerated every last piece of it to keep any form of memory that Taka could regain as far away from him as possible, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to start it up again after he and the rest of his classmates were rescued by the future foundation. He’d only managed to get a hold of a new journal after he was given one by Kyoko for the sake of his and Mondo’s last mission.  
  
However, his attachment to the new journal had completely shifted a few months back. The last mission he’d gone on had left him bedridden for nearly three months straight, leaving him without a shred of motivation to get up for anything other than to eat or to use the bathroom. The only people who ever really bothered to stay and visit for long periods of time were Sakura, Chihiro, and Aoi. Makoto would occasionally come in and try to spark some kind of conversation as well, but those visits were always few and far between.  
  
All Taka had besides that was the journal, and the dreams he had became his only activity throughout the day. Now, the journal felt less like a dream journal, and more like a diary recording his day-to-day life. The dreams he recorded began to substitute his fond memories of the real world, to the point where his real memories became dazed with the visions of his better, ideal dream land. Taka didn’t have to lift a finger to dream, and it was only a matter of waking up, writing everything down to keep track, and then falling back asleep to rinse and repeat the process.  
  
Taka slowly sat up in his bed, reaching up to rub the sleep out of his eyes. The cold air made contact with his bare skin, nearly making him recoil back under the covers. He had only been wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Taka reached over to the nightstand and opened the drawer, grabbing the Journal and pencil that had both been neatly placed inside and brought it over to the bed, propping it up on his knees and flipping it to a fresh page to begin writing on.  
  
It was just as he was about to begin writing that he heard a knock at the door.  
  
“Hey Taka… Can I come in,” Called Aoi from the other side. When she got no response, she quietly opened the door, stepping inside. The light from the outside of the room bled in, making Taka shield his face until Aoi closed the door behind her.  
  
Aoi was surprised to see Taka awake, staring back at her with a blank expression. “O-Oh.. So you _are_ up then, huh?” She said, giving him a half-hearted smile. Taka still didn’t respond, and instead he continued to stare at Aoi. She started to approach him with caution, as if he were a dangerous animal in a flimsy cage, or he was so fragile that the sounds of footsteps could make him shatter.  
  
Taka’s attention shifted to what was in Aoi’s hands. She was holding a small bowl of plain white rice, and when she approached the bedside, she set it down gently on the nightstand. “I, uh… I made you something to eat,” She explained, gesturing to the small bowl. “I know it’s not like.. noon or anything, but.. I’ve just been worried that you haven’t been eating as much as you should be anymore…”  
  
Taka broke from the stare and looked down at his journal in a way that seemed almost guilty. Aoi was right to be worried. Taka had always been looking out for his classmates back before the tragedy occurred. Their health was just as important to him as his own, and he couldn’t stand the idea of the people in his life not taking proper care of themselves.  
  
The constant need to keep all of his friends in top shape bled into his time working with the Future Foundation as well, and he’d always made a major effort to put everyone on health and exercise schedules to surprising success. He’d only ever stopped keeping track after the events of the last mission he went on.  
  
Aoi silently watched Taka as he closed up the journal again and set it beside the pillow. He reached over to the rice bowl on the nightstand and carefully brought it in front of him. He stared at the freshly prepared food for a moment as if he’d never seen food in his entire life, but he didn’t take long to start eating. It was good to know that he wasn’t completely shut down from the world, but it still hurt to see how much his sense of determination and spirit had vanished. His long winded rambles and discussions had turned into small, one-word responses, and the constant smile he previously had on his face at all times had completely vanished.  
  
“...Would you be ok if I sat with you for a little bit,” Aoi asked Taka. His only response was a slow nod as he shifted over so she could have room. Aoi took a seat on the side of Taka’s bed, turning her attention towards the journal. “So… What have you been writing in that journal, anyways,” She prodded. Taka paused for a moment, swallowing the rice he had in his mouth.  
  
“My dreams…”  
  
Taka’s tone was so unusually quiet that Aoi could sometimes convince herself that it wasn’t Taka speaking.  
  
But the disheartened feeling that she felt faded away instantly with Taka’s response. “Oh! Like… Like the one you had back at the academy,” She recalled, trying to quiet down her tone to match his own. Taka nodded, still not dropping the sad, blank expression he had on his face. “I’m glad to see you doing that again!” Aoi took a good long look at the journal, letting the silence hang in the air for a little. She decided against picking it up and flipping through it, even if the contents made her a bit curious.  
  
“So… Has it…” Aoi paused for a moment, turning around to really face Taka. “...Has it been making you feel any better,” She asked with a hopeful smile. Taka lowered his head at that question, curling into his knees and crouching over the bowl. He slowly shook his head. Aoi frowned. “Hm.. Well… Maybe it will start to help you soon, ok? And-And… Maybe you can tell me about your dreams again, too! ...How about _l_ start keeping my own journal again as well? That way we can finally have something to talk about... Ok?”  
  
Taka glanced over to Aoi, giving her a small nod. He had a feeling she wouldn’t keep up with that promise, even if it was for him. Not that this was her fault, though. There was just always something much more important for her to divide her attention to nowadays. She’d either keep up with a journal and let Taka be pleasantly surprised, or she would give up on him, and Taka would understand.  
  
The silence between the two of them pushed onwards as Taka picked through the rice until there was none left. He set the bowl back on the nightstand, along with the journal. He’d forgotten his dream already, and it was beginning to weigh on him… He could probably try and continue it to jog his memory… yeah, that’d work... He shifted himself back down onto the pillow and pulled up as much of the comforter as he could before he had to tug it out from where Aoi was sitting. Her mind seemed to be drifting elsewhere.  
  
“...Huh?” She said, snapping out of her trance and looking back at Taka. “Oh… Are you gonna go back to sleep already,” Aoi asked, standing up to free the covers from her weight. Taka pulled the rest over his head, just barely peeking out to nod at her. “Ah… Alright…” Aoi stood in silence as Taka buried himself under the warm covers.  
  
Before Aoi left, she got his attention one last time by putting a hand on his covered shoulder. “Hey...Taka,” She added, waiting for a response. When no response came, she continued. “...It’s gonna be alright… ok?”  
  
Aoi waited just another moment for even just the smallest response, but just as she’d expected, none came. Aoi tried to tell Taka that things would be ok each time she visited.  
  
But with every passing day, Taka only seemed to believe her less.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh shit! My first fic that Im actually posting on Ao3!!
> 
> This isn't the first fic I've made, but those old ones will never see the light of day, lol. I just kept them confined to the discord servers that I'm a part of with no intention of posting them elsewhere, but this fic's not like other girls!! she goes on Ao3!!
> 
> This will likely end up being relatively short, since I'm still kinda testing the waters, but I sincerely hope you all enjoy it!!


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